Writers’ Camp concludes at Noted writer interacts with participants, hails Academy’s initiative

Yusmarg, June 27, 2013

The 5-day All State Writers’ Camp, organized by J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages, concluded Thursday at this picturesque central tourist resort, 47 kms from summer capital .

The camp had started on Sunday, the first time in the Valley after a gap of 24 years. The last All State Writers’ Camp in Kashmir was held in 1989 at Cheshma Shahi overlooking the Dal .

Coming from three regions of the State, prominent and budding poets and authors of nine languages including Kashmiri, Dogri, Pahari, Gojri, Ladakhi, Sheena, Punjabi, and Urdu remained engaged in creative writing and discussions on literary issues.

The highlight of the last day was an interaction with renowned Urdu writer, critic and poet, Prof Hamidi Kashmiri, who was invited to share his experiences with the campers. He spoke about modern trends in literature and said that poetry and fiction produced in & Kashmir in different languages was of good quality. He advised young and budding writers to study literature of other languages to sharpen their writing skills. He said All State Writers’ Camp was a good initiative by the Academy and he was pleased to have visited the writers at the camp and listen to their verses and prose.

The camp buzzed with literary discussions and creative writing for five days and concluded with a multi-lingual mushaira (poetic recitation session). The session was presided over by Prof Hamidi Kashmiri. The poets who recited their verses include Arvind Sharma, Nida Nawaz, Sheikh Azad, Jan Hakeem, Mashkoor Shad, Thinless Gurmet, Rattan Doshi, Vijaya Thakur, Raj Rahi, Ali Shaida, Shahnaz Rashid, Rukhsana Jabeen, Khalid Hussain, Khalid Bashir Ahmad and Prof. Hamidi Kashmiri.

The participants described the camp as a very important and successful activity which helped them a great deal in understanding literary trends and discuss language issues. They complimented the Academy for reviving this activity and hoped that it would now be an annual feature.

Speaking at the concluding session, Secretary Academy, Khalid Bashir Ahmad, said that in holding the All State Writers’ Camp an opportunity was accorded to the participants to engage in creative writing and literary discourse. He said by coming in contact with each other and putting up together for several days, different generations of writers get to share ideas and experiences. He said junior writers also learn from their seniors the art of perfecting writing skills. He said that he was happy on the revival of the All State Writers’ Camp in Kashmir after over two decades and assured that it would be the Academy’s endeavour to hold it regularly.

The Secretary briefed the participants about various initiatives and activities undertaken by the Academy since June 2012 for promotion of art, culture and languages. He specifically referred to language conferences, digitization of the Academy’s wealth of manuscripts, paintings, photographs and calligraphy specimen, publication of Saqafat, the multi-colour newsletter of the Academy, 2-month long Kashmir Folk Festival, first ever music festival, revival of drama festival in Kashmir, creation of artists and writers welfare fund, enhancement of TA/DA of writers and artists and remuneration and publication of many special numbers of language periodicals. He also spoke about programmes in the pipeline.

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